Simulation: Creative Solutions to Observing Student Teaching Competencies
The University of Central Florida (UCF) has moved their work with TeachLivE to remote servers to allow teacher candidates throughout the duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic to use simulations of classrooms to observe student teaching competencies. UCF invites teacher educators from other teacher training institutions to use the TeachLivE platform.
TeachLivE now has the capability to observe student teachers interacting with elementary (option for inclusive setting), middle, and high school (option for inclusive setting) classrooms. Users may request English Language Learning avatars (Spanish).We also support preparation for parent-teacher and teacher-principal conferences. These virtual simulations can occur with an instructor observing a prospective teacher interacting remotely with students in one of the TeachLivE environments or used in an online setting with peers watching each other to provide feedback. The instructor can record data about specific student teaching competencies and providing feedback to the prospective teachers.
Prospective teachers can access these simulations from home using a computer, tablet, or smart phone. UCF invites teacher educators from other teacher training institutions to partner with us in research concerning how to assist student teachers in demonstrating student teaching competencies in these trying times or how to best use simulation in your online classrooms. We are very interested in discussing research designs and projects with potential partners.
If interested, please contact us at teachlive@ucf.edu.
Lisa Dieker is Pegasus Professor and Lockheed Martin Eminent Scholar Chair, Exceptional Student Education at the University of Central Florida.
Tags: higher education, innovation, teacher quality, technology
